THIS WEEK IN THE GULF COAST NEWS by; Rick McCann

GULF SHORES ALABAMA JUNE 29 2007

To start the big 4th of July holiday week end there's a big concert at the WHARF!
Montgomery Gentry, a country duo, will perform along with special guest Tracy Lawrence, July 3 at The Amphitheater at the Wharf, Canal Road at the Foley Beach Express. The gates open at 7 p.m.; showtime is at 8.Tickets are $49.50, $39.50, or $16.50, and are available through Ticketmaster outlets and online at http://www.ticketmaster.com/venue/222167/.

Columbia Records signed them, and a string of hits soon followed. They include “Hillbilly Shoes,” “Lonely And Gone,” “Daddy Won't Sell The Farm,” “She Couldn't Change Me,” “My Town,” “Speed,” “Hell Yeah,” “Gone” and “If You Ever Stop Loving Me.”They have performed for well over a million fans, and prior to headlining their own tours, they opened for Kenny Chesney and Brooks & Dunn.



LEVEL II SHELTER READY IN ROBERSDALE
Baldwin County opened its first official Level II medical needs community shelter .
It is a sanctuary from hurricanes and tornadoes intended by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for those with special medical needs living at home, including:• People with mild dementia without abusive or wandering behavior.• Ostomy or catheter patients.• People experiencing frequent incontinence.• People requiring assistance with injected medication.• Oxygen, nebulizer or sleep apnea therapy that has been stabilized at home for 30 or more days.• Hospice patients. • Intravenous patients.• Simple bandage dressing changes.• Peritoneal dialysis, if either self administered or with family assistance.The brick-laden and windowless structure was built with reinforced concrete and can handle 200 mph wind, according to Baldwin County Emergency Management Agency Director Leigh Anne Ryals.“We feel a lot more comfortable having buildings like this,” Ryals said.The hurricane haven resembles a prison, except the steel bars used to lock the doors are on the inside and it’s got a cheerier decor.There is enough room for 25 patients with one caregiver each. But if a disaster strikes, those numbers aren’t set in stone, according to Alabama Public Heath Service Administrator Andy Mullins.“We would not turn people away,” Mullins said. “We’ll make room.”However, they will send the refugees to another shelter if it’s packed too full or if they don’t fit the criteria for that specific shelter.“We will put people in the shelter that they need best,” Mullins said.Other shelters include the Senior Citizen shelter at Central Baldwin Middle School or the general public shelters at Baldwin County High School, Fairhope High School, Robertsdale High School, Spanish Fort High School or Daphne East Elementary.The Association of Retarded Citizens of Baldwin County has its own shelter at Bay Minette Middle School.The shelter also has its own generator and necessary equipment is stored there, an aspect which makes it unique from all of Baldwin County’s other shelters.“All we have to do is bring in the staff and we’re ready to go,” Mullins said.During a storm, there will be two teams of eight professionals trading off 12-hour shifts. The teams will consist of two nurses, two nurses’ aides, a social worker, an environmentalist for food safety, a general safety officer and an administrative person.There are even a couple rooms available to isolate potentially contagious conditions and everything is wheelchair accessible.All of Baldwin County’s shelters are strategically located within one mile of a hospital, according to Ryals. So, if there’s a condition or emergency the staff isn’t equipped to handle, the patients will be shipped there promptly.The shelter, located at 207 North White Ave., is one of three in Baldwin County intended to provide medical support, but the other two are to be staffed with only a couple emergency medical technicians — a fact which makes them electrical support shelters and not official Level II medical needs community shelters.Pat Harris, with the Baldwin County Council on Aging, can remember a time when the medical needs shelters were converted courthouses with school buses blocking the windows.Now, Harris is working on a plan to get every senior in Baldwin County a personal emergency plan.But as for Baldwin County’s medical needs shelter, John Hankins, director of Public Health Nursing, Alabama Department of Public Health, is confident the shelter will hold up.“We could sustain here very well throughout an event,” he said. “This is the best designed medical needs shelter I’ve seen in my career.”
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FOLEY- Police here along with other agencies are investigating the alledged rape of a woman by a city police officer. Police have released few details but say that they are involved in an active investigation against one of their own and that the officer has now been suspended during this time until investigators can determine the validity of the charge.

FIREWORKS ARE ON!!
While many Alabama cities are dealing with the drought situations and have some have canceled their annual fireworks programs due to the dry conditions, all of the usual firework shows along the gulf coast are on!
You can catch fireworks on the public beach in Gulf Shores, and along the eatern shores in Fairhope!

THUNDER ON THE GULF
The annual "Thunder on the Gulf" speedboat races sponsored by The Gulf Coast Powerboat Association will be held this year in Gulf Shores/Orange Beach during the week-end of Aug16-19th. For more info go to www.thunderonthegulf.com

GOLF TOURNAMENT TO BENEFIT SHELTER; Rick McCann

GULF SHORES ALBAMA--JUNE 29 2007

The second annual golf tournament to benefit Mary's Shelter will be held Aug. 24 at Craft Farms in Gulf Shores. The shelter in Elberta provides a home for pregnant women in need.
Tickets are $100 each and include golf and cart, lunch, range balls and prizes. Sign in begins at 11 a.m. with warm-up and lunch until the noon shotgun start. Prizes will be awarded after the scramble tournament beginning around 4 p.m.
Cosmo's Restaurant in Orange Beach is the Corporate Sponsor of the tournament with Kaiser Realty as co-sponsor.
Hole sponsorships are $150 and include a sign. Hole sponsors who pay $500 also receive a foursome package. For sponsorships or tickets, call Mary's Shelter toll free at 866-823-4674.
Mary's Shelter is a non-denominational facility that accommodates women of Mobile, Baldwin and Escambia counties in Alabama as well as Escambia and Santa Rosa counties in Florida. Currently, six women and seven children live in the facility in Elberta.
Its primary goal is to provide a safe, loving atmosphere for pregnant women while they await the birth of their child. In addition, counseling and programs including parenting, childcare, housekeeping, money management, career planning and job training are available to help the mother develop character, maturity and responsibility.
Funding sources include individual donations, churches and their affiliates, local fund-raising events, local corporations, businesses and banks, grants and foundations. Mary's Shelter is a non-profit organization and all donations are tax deductible according to IRS guidelines for 501 (c)(3) organizations. Mary's Shelter is a South Baldwin County United Way Agency.
For more information about Mary's Shelter, call Administrator Jo Godfrey at 986-6200

GULF SHORES/ORANGE BEACH AL. JUNE 29 2007-Join all of the fun in the sun here during the annual “THUNDER ON THE GULF” powerboat races sponsored by the Gulf Coast Powerboat Association. Watch the Nascar on the water during the week-end of August 16-19th and come prepared for the action!
For information on this years event go http://www.thunderonthegulf.com/

FOURTH PERSON DROWNS IN THE GULF by; Rick McCann

GULF SHORES ALABAMA----JUNE 29 2007

A man who drowned Wednesday afternoon at West Beach Boulevard in Gulf Shores was identified today as William Goins, 21, of Elberta, said Darrell Franklin, city police investigator.
Goins was pulled from the water at around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, about 45 minutes after he disappeared while swimming near Lagoon Pass on West Beach, Franklin said. The victim had a Georgia drivers license, but had been living in Baldwin County.
Franklin said Goins was in the Gulf with a group of friends when the swimmers decided conditions were too rough and were trying to return to shore. Yellow flags, which indicate moderate surf conditions, but do not prohibit swimmers from entering the water, were flying at public beaches at the time Goins drowned, Franklin said. Yellow flags are also flying today, according to city reports. Goins is the fourth swimmer to drown in the Gulf of Mexico in Baldwin County this summer.